Climate Change Photo Challenge

Winners

Boston Children's Museum is the first LEED certified museum in Boston and one of only a handful of Green museums across the country (but those numbers are growing!). One of our favorite parts of our green building is the green roof, which covers almost 6,000 square feet; is made up of hundreds of plants in individual containers; and was planted by visiting children! This roof reduces the Museum's energy use by absorbing heat and acting as an insulator for the building, which reduces the amount of energy we use to cool and heat the museum.
The Green Roof also helps us reduce pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Because we use less air conditioning, we contribute less to the production of related pollution and greenhouse gases. The plants on our roof can also remove air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions through dry deposition and carbon sequestration and storage.
There are lots of green roofs in Washington D.C. Can you find some of them?

Boston Children's Museum is the first LEED certified museum in Boston and one of only a handful of Green museums across the country (but those numbers are growing!). One of our favorite parts of our green building is the green roof, which covers almost 6,000 square feet; is made up of hundreds of plants in individual containers; and was planted by visiting children! This roof reduces the Museum's energy use by absorbing heat and acting as an insulator for the building, which reduces the amount of energy we use to cool and heat the museum. The Green Roof also helps us reduce pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Because we use less air conditioning, we contribute less to the production of related pollution and greenhouse gases. The plants on our roof can also remove air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions through dry deposition and carbon sequestration and storage. There are lots of green roofs in Washington D.C. Can you find some of them?

“Climate change is occurring, is very likely caused by human activities, and poses significant risks for a broad range of human and natural systems. Each additional ton of greenhouse gases emitted commits us to further change and greater risks. In the judgment of the Committee on America’s Climate Choices, the environmental, economic, and humanitarian risks of climate change indicate a pressing need for substantial action to limit the magnitude of climate change and to prepare to adapt to its impacts.”

National Research Council, 2011

What is your community doing about climate change? Here at the Koshland we see all sorts of positive actions from green roofs sprouting up across D.C. to cooling stations that can be used during heat waves. We also see some of the potential impacts -- spring flowers are blooming earlier and the number of 90 degree days per summer has risen .

Share your photograph of some of the ways your community is lowering its greenhouse gas emissions or adapting to the impacts of climate change. Next month we will use these photos as the basis of a climate change tour challenge.

Take a photo of a place that shows an example of a way to lower greenhouse gases, a potential impact of global climate change, or a way to adapt to the impacts of climate change.

Write a description of what you photo shows and include location information*.

Upload it to Flickr (www.flickr.com) or another photosharing site and make it public. Please include the lat/long coordinates** in your brief description of the photo.

Fill out the form at the link below to alert us of your submission. You will be asked for your name and e-mail address, lat/long coordinates** for the location of the photo and a brief description. (If you haven't already, you must register with the Koshland website, using the simple form on the left column of this page in order to enter.)

NEED HELP? If you need help with your entry or registrtion, please email us at ksm@nas.edu or leave a comment below and one of our staff will assist you.

*Location information – We are looking for the precise latitude and longitude of the point at which the photo was taken.

**How do you get latitude and longitude information? – Some smart phones and digital cameras record this information. If this is not the case with your camera, then you can go to Google maps and zoom in on the location at which you took the photo. Right-click (Mac users ctrl-click) on the selected location and choose "What's Here". Latitude and longitude will be displayed in the search box. For example the Marian Koshland Science Museum is located at 525 E Street, NW, Washington, DC. According to Google maps our coordinates are 38.89624,-77.019735 (lat, long).

Evaluation Criteria:

All appropriate, on-topic photos will be included in a photo gallery that will be the basis for our September Challenge – Green Tour. You can see some of the most recent entries on our Flickr Climate Change Challenge Photo Gallery. Staff will pick one favorite to highlight on the website.

Comments

Photo Description:
This tour guide and Atchafalaya Basinkeeper fights against illegal cypress tree logging in the swamps of Atchafalaya Basin in Bayou Sorrel, located in south central Louisiana. This is the largest swamp in the U.S. - a combination of wetlands and river delta that naturally protects Louisiana's Coast from the hurricanes that are notorious here. The swamps are also one of the largest natural carbon sinks in the U.S., but are at risk from agricultural development and sea rise. The natives fish while telling tales of old days when these swamps were dark from thick canopies and the singing of birds was deafening.
Location: 30.16229,-91.335765
Photo Link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/84546765@N04/7741845480/in/photostream/
Short Link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/84546765@N04/7741845480/